WKYT(SANTA CRUZ, Calif.) -- Paula Lopez, an anchorwoman for ABC News affiliate KEYT-TV in Santa Barbara, Calif., was safe back at her home after a missing persons scare, family members told KEYT.

Lopez's family earlier had called authorities to say the 48-year-old was missing just after 10 a.m., the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department said.

"Her last known location was at her home located near Cathedral Oaks Road and North San Marcos Road," the sheriff's department said in a news release this evening. "No foul play is suspected but her family is concerned about her welfare."

It was not immediately clear why her family reported her missing so quickly after she last was seen.

The report prompted a search that was assisted by K-9 units and a Santa Barbara County Air Support Unit helicopter, the sheriff's department said.

It also prompted a written statement by Mark Danielson, general manager of KEYT, who called Lopez, who anchored the 11 p.m. news, "a beloved member of the KEYT family."

"We have been in touch with her family and know they, as well as local authorities, are doing everything possible to find her safe and sound," the statement said. "It is clearly a difficult time for her family and our own family at KEYT. All of us at KEYT stand ready to assist in any way we can."